Background
I’ve been lifting on and off for about 12 years, started getting serious about 5 years ago, but life… you know… Started making real progress and have been going steady (not including 3-4 months during 'Rona shutdown) for about 3 years now. Have experimented with some SARMs (Rad140, YK11) but nothing in about 18 months. No AAS use to date, but willing to cycle to meet goals (I need to lean out first, IMO).
I have been lean enough for defined abs before, years ago during my single and military days, but I managed to do so only via complete abolition of carbs and 400g+ protein daily (whether through dumb luck or sheer force of will, I managed to have a legitimate 6-pack).
Stats (as of 11/8/2021)
Height: 5’9
Weight: 229.5lbs
Age: 27
Biceps: 17.5" (without pump)
Waist at Navel: 38"
Thighs: 27.5"
BF: 20-25% (your guess is as good as mine)
Bench: 315x3
Squat: 405x3
Deadlift: 495x3
Goal
- Lean out to the extent of visible, sustainable 4 or 6-pack abs
- Without losing too much muscle (i’ll take some moon rocks too, if you have any).
Method
-I have been doing well with Push/Pull/Legs for 5-6 days a week, the 2nd leg day is typically the sacrificial lamb (don’t judge). I had been neglecting pretty much all cardio work, but I recently began 10-15 minutes moderate HR cardio prior to training sessions. I would like to continue with this plan, but I may need to find a new program as progress has been stalling as of late.
-I ran a few different calculations for maintenance calories, all of which equated to about 3,200-3,400 calories daily; after averaging the different calculations, it was closest to 3,200. To lose an estimated 10% bodyfat (maybe more) will be to lose about 23lbs. I have planned for a 500 (EDIT: 1000) calorie daily defecit leaving me at a baseline of 2,700 (EDIT: 2150) calories daily, which I log in MFP. Macro count as follows…
-Fat: 90g (EDIT: 60g)
-Carbs: 236g (EDIT: 188g)
-Protein: 236g (EDIT: 215g)
With this estimated defecit, I expect to be close or at my goal physique in about 20 weeks.
any who want to follow along or offer advice are welcome to, however, I am creating this progress log for myself
9 Likes
EDIT
apparently the new forum formatting shows the first picture in your log. Going to paste the most current one just to spare folks from having to see my fatass pre-transformation picture.
Day 1 photo: 
2 Likes
May I see this pic, set to the macros tab for 11/8-11/14? Thank you.
Training log for last week:
11/8/2021 - Pull
Warmup - Rowing, 30 on 60 off for 8 min
Inc. DB Hammer Curl (123) - 4x8 @ 35
Smith Row (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 135
Trap Bar Shrug (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 185
EZ Curl (222) - 3x10 @ 65
M. Grip Cable Row (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 120
Cable Face Pulls (3s Iso) - 4x8 @ 40
W. Grip Lat Pulldown (3s Iso) - 4x8 @ 110
Reverse Grip EZ Curl (3s Neg.) - 2x12 @ 50
11/9/2021 - Push
Warmup - Stairmaster, lv5 for 10 mins
Inc. BB Bench - 4x8 @ 185
High Inc. DB Press (90% ROM) - 4x8 @ 75
DB Lat. Delt Raise (123) - 3x10 @ 15
Reverse DB Flye, Inc. (Expl., 2s Iso) - 3x10 @ 20
OH Tricep Ext. (90% ROM, 222) - 4x8 @ 85
Uni. Cable Flyes (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 60
45* Cable Pushdown (222) - 3x10 @ 180
11/10/2021 - Legs
Warmup - Stairmaster, lv5 for 10 mins
Hack Squat, Quad Dom. (3s Neg.) - 3x10 @ 135
Hip Thrust (Expl., 2s Iso) - 3x10 @ 225
Back Squat - 5x5 @ 315
Uni. Quad Ext. (3s Neg.) - 4x8 @ 75
Uni. Ham Curl (3s Neg.) - 4x8 @ 75
Uni. Calve Press (3s Neg.) - 3x10 @ 125
11/11/2021 - Off (unplanned)
11/12/2021 - Pull
Warmup - Sprints, 30 on 60 off, 3.0/8.0 for 8 min
Inc. DB Hammer Curl (123) - 4x8 @ 35
Smith Row (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 145
Trap Bar Shrug (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 185
EZ Curl (222) - 3x10 @ 65
M. Grip Cable Row (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 120
Cable Face Pulls (3s Iso) - 4x8 @ 50
W. Grip Lat Pulldown (3s Iso) - 4x8 @ 120
Reverse Grip EZ Curl (3s Neg.) - 2x12 @ 50
11/13/2021 - Push
Warmup - Stairmaster, lv6 for 10 mins
Inc. BB Bench - 4x8 @ 185
High Inc. DB Press (90% ROM) - 4x8 @ 75
DB Lat. Delt Raise (123) - 3x10 @ 15
Reverse DB Flye, Inc. (Expl., 2s Iso) - 3x10 @ 20
OH Tricep Ext. (90% ROM, 222) - 4x8 @ 85
Uni. Cable Flyes (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 60
45* Cable Pushdown (222) - 3x10 @ 180
11/14/2021 - Off (planned)
2 Likes
Hell yea dude! I’ll definitely be following along
1 Like
11/15/2021 - Pull
Warmup - Stairmaster, lv6 for 10 min
Inc. DB Hammer Curl (122) - 4x8 @ 35
Smith Row (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 135
Trap Bar Shrug (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 185
EZ Curl (222) - 3x10 @ 65
M. Grip Cable Row (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 120
Cable Face Pulls (3s Iso) - 4x8 @ 40
W. Grip Lat Pulldown (3s Iso) - 4x8 @ 110
Reverse Grip EZ Curl (3s Neg.) - 2x12 @ 50
No changes in weight lifted, slept like shit night before. Biceps cramped more than usual and did not have best contact in back muscles. Unsure if due to caloric deficit or poor sleep quality; follow up next pull day
1 Like
11/16/2021 - Push
Warmup - Sprints, 2.5/8.0, 30 on 60 off for 10 mins
Inc. BB Bench - 4x5 @ 225 need to do 5x5
High Inc. DB Press (90% ROM) - 4x8 @ 75
DB Lat. Delt Raise (123) - 3x12 @ 15
Reverse DB Flye, Inc. (Expl., 2s neg.) - 3x12 @ 20
OH Tricep Ext. (90% ROM, 222) - 4x8 @ 85
Uni. Cable Flyes (3s Iso) - 4x8 @ 60
45* Cable Pushdown (222) - 3x10 @ 180 gonna need a bigger stack soon
workout felt good, pushed hard and did well. average sleep last night. Also, to the plebs clogging up the free weights: HOLY FUCK GET OFF THE FUCKING FREE BENCHES BEFORE I THROW A DUMBBELL AT YOU
Had my fucking blood boiling today
Considering turning ~500 cal deficit into 1000-1200 daily deficit because I’m impulsive as fuck and want results right meow… seriously though, I’m considering taking the hit on muscle loss knowing its fairly easy to put back on if you’ve had it before. (insert opinions below if interested/experienced)
3 Likes
Package to nipple ratio is just right 
1 Like
That’s what I’d do. Protein high enough and keep training hard may not lose any muscle.
Suffer long time or short time.
1 Like
11/17/21 - Legs
Feeling a bit de-motivated so let’s see how this goes…
Only slept 5ish hours last night. Typically sleep 6-6.5
Took a 5 minute power nap and pulled my shit together.
Warmup - Stairmaster, lv6 for 10 mins
Back Squat - 5x5 @ 315
Hip Thrust (Expl., 2s Iso) - 3x10 @ 225
Hack Squat, Quad Dom. (3s Neg.) - 2x12 @ 135
Uni. Quad Ext. (3s Neg.) - 4x8 @ 75
Uni. Ham Curl (3s Neg.) - 4x8 @ 75
Uni. Calve Press (3s Neg.) - 3x10 @ 130
-workout felt fucking phenomenal. Going easier on Valsava during squats is the best advice I’ve had in a REALLY long time.
-Put up 315x5 after 225 warmup easy - will need to increase weight next leg day.
-Dropped a set from hack squat; felt unnecessary when regular squats went so well.
-8bpm heart rate decrease on stairmaster compared to last. Was peaking 160bpm, now did not exceed 154
1 Like
11/18/2021 - Pull
-Slept well last night but woke up really tired, we’ll see how it goes.
-Skipped warmup cardio because my shoes blew up (lol)
-solid training session. 10/10 would recommend to a friend
Warmup - skipped
Deadlift - 5x5 @ 405, ramped up. 2pl, 3pl, 4pl, 4pl, 4pl
Trap Bar Shrug (3s Iso) - 3x12 @ 185
Smith Row (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 155
Inc. DB Hammer Curl (122) - 4x8 @ 35
EZ Curl (222) - 4x8 @ 65
M. Grip Cable Row (3s Iso) - 3x12 @ 100
Cable Face Pulls (3s Iso) - 4x8 @ 40
W. Grip Lat Pulldown (3s Iso) - 4x8 @ 110
have been 1,000cal deficit for 4 days now. I’m thinking I might need a re-feed tomorrow
3 Likes
11/19/2021 - Push
-Slept well last night, woke up tired AF again. Suspicions confirmed: I need to re-feed
-Got new shoes so I can actually do cardio this time (insert sarcastic “yay” here)
-Pretty sore from Deadlifts yesterday but it shouldn’t impact anything for today. Even my well-protected abs are sore.
-Did a small re-feed today, will need to do it earlier next week
Warmup - Stairmaster lv6 for 8 mins
Inc. BB Bench - 5x5 @ 185 (had to work out of order because shitheads were clogging the bench)
High Inc. DB Press (90% ROM) - 4x8 @ 80
DB Lat. Delt Raise (123) - 4x8 @ 15
Reverse DB Flye, Inc. (Expl., 2s neg.) - 3x12 @ 20
OH Tricep Ext. (90% ROM, 222) - 4x8 @ 85
Uni. Cable Flyes (3s Iso) - 4x8 @ 60
45* Cable Pushdown (222) - 4x8 @ 190
Session was okay, but I was really low energy. Had to cut a lot of weight off my Inc bench because it wasn’t available until after DB Press and Lat Raise. Need to sleep more. Need less teenagers with Patrick Mahomes haircuts in the free weight section
2 Likes
Week 2 Nutrition. I may have gone a little too heavy on my Sat. Cheat day but I’m still a bit high on overall calories, will adjust calorie and macro goals for this week to reflect new weight and stronger deficit.
2 Likes
Week 3 starting photo:
11/22/2021
Weight: 225lb (2lb lost from last week)
Biceps: 17.5 (Measured 17.75 once, but couldn’t repeat. Assumed anomaly)
Waist at navel: 37.75 (0.25" lost from last measure)
Thighs: 27.5
I’m down 4.5lbs from 2 weeks ago. Considering the first week was 500cal daily deficit and 2nd week was ~800cal daily deficit, my maintenence calories are probably above the 3200 initially presumed
Noticeable shoulder definition increase, but more to go still.
2 Likes
11/22/2021 - pull
-slept well, but only for about 5 hours.
-Workout felt good, deadlifts improved by 20lb and likely ready to increase weight next run through.
-Had to rush rest periods a bit because low on time. Minimal impact to performance though.
Warmup - skipped, no time due to class
Deadlift - 5x5 @ 425, ramped up. 2pl, 3pl, 4pl, 425, 425
Trap Bar Shrug (3s Iso) - 3x12 @ 185
Smith Row (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 135 (lowered weight for better contact)
Inc. DB Hammer Curl (122) - 4x8 @ 35
EZ Curl (222) - 4x8 @ 65
M. Grip Cable Row (3s Iso) - 4x8 @ 120
Cable Face Pulls (3s Iso) - 3x12 @ 40
W. Grip Lat Pulldown (3s Iso) - 3x10 @ 110
Reverse EZ Curl (3s iso) - 2x12 @ 45
2 Likes
